Just Too Different
by lotsandlotsoflove
Summary: Finn and Rachel are thrust into each other's lives, talking regularly on the McKinley chat room, dealing with what life throws at them. Finn is still popular and Rachel is not. What happens when the Prom theme is revealed as a masquerade and no one is who they seem, will Finn and Rachel break the rules of high school and end up together. AU Finchel – with snippets of Glee.


**_DISCLAIMER: _****_ I don't own Glee, that's down to Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuck._**

**__****_Dedicated to all my lovely followers + to the people who have been waiting for this for a while, and helped me to write the story._**

* * *

**Just Too Different**

_Finn and Rachel both attend McKinley High School, Finn still popular and Rachel still the "Glee Freak". One day they are thrust into each other's lives, talking regularly on the McKinley chat room, dealing with what life throws at them. What happens when the Prom theme is revealed as a masquerade and no one is who they seem, will Finn and Rachel break the rules of high school and end up together. AU Finchel – with snippets of Glee._

* * *

It was official, life sucked for Rachel Barbra Berry. Being the captain of the McKinley Glee Club, an over achiever and Broadway diva wasn't always easy; Rachel had spent nearly 4 years attempting to climb her way to the top of the imaginary social ladder, not necessarily because she wanted to be popular, oh no - she was against popularity – after all it was popularity that led her to be slushied near enough every day of every week, she wanted to be on top for being successful, recognised for something special, because "being a part of something special makes you special." But still after all the effort she had put into to succeed, it just wasn't acknowledged. She wasn't noticed by boys, the only time she was, was when they laughed at her, but there had always seemed to be one boy in her life, other than her dads and her best friend that had a special place in her heart – Finn Hudson. On the opposite side of the popularity spectrum, it could be said the Finn Hudson's life sucked too. His long term girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend as she was now probably going to be known, Quinn Fabray had cheated on him with one of the other members of the football team- rubbing salt into the wounds it turned out that she had slept with his best friend Noah Puckerman, now an ex-best friend. They came to blows in the locker room, basically beating the crap out of one another, and now Finn avoided them whenever he could. Finn was confused about the whole cheating scenario with Quinn, surely he should have felt something other than betrayal towards her, he did love her or so he thought, but for as long as he can remember there has also been one other girl that has occupied his thoughts, other than his mom and that was Rachel Berry, the girl everyone deemed a loser, and no matter how much Finn tried to deny it, she meant so much to him.

**-x-**

Rachel got back from school and the first thing she did was place her slushied stained outfit in the wash before her dads got home, they didn't fully known the torture and emotional abuse that Rachel received on a daily basis, she never fully elaborated on the stories past… "No one understands me or has the same ambition which I possess"… so they never knew about the slushy stained training bras and t-shirts; they just knew that their little girl was much more ambitious than her fellow peers. There were very few of them, but on the days the LeRoy and Hiram Berry were home before their daughter was, Rachel would hand was any of the incriminating evidence that revealed the high school bullying, and the bitch-slap of ice across the face.

Growing up for Rachel hadn't been easy, she was the daughter of the only two gay men in Lima, and people weren't as welcoming to the gay community like they were now, (they still weren't as welcoming as LeRoy and Hiram would have liked, but it was a start) so that meant poor little Rachel had no friends, simply because no parents wanted their child to play with the daughter of the 'gays'. At first Rachel had friends until the day both Hiram and LeRoy picked her up after school, all heads turned to face the little girl running towards to two smiling gentleman as she screeched how much she loved both her daddies very much; it was from then on Rachel didn't get play dates with her class mates, and no one responded to her invitations to tea after school. Parents didn't want their children to be around her. She would sit on the swing, alone, her legs swinging back and forth as her delicate little pink ballet flats skimming the dirt below, tears pooling from her eyes as she tried to understand why nobody wanted to play with her. Rachel was a happy child, but looking at the way her little face crumbled in her hands as she tried so hard to hide the tears that misted her chocolate coloured eyes, you wouldn't have guessed. Her knees were often stained with cuts and bruises, some fresh and some starting to scar, but no matter the age of the scratches on her knees, they all hurt the same. Her daddies had thought that the cuts on her legs were from the energy of playing in the playground, not from being pushed over by the bully Dave Karofsky, just because she had two dads; but Rachel never did end up telling anyone what he had done to her. Near enough everyday little Rachel had walked into the playground, her head held high, showing the bullies that nothing they could do would put her down, but it never worked that way and before school had even started she would always be in the classroom, sniffling and crying as she drew pictures to adorn her fridge at home. The taunting and teasing only seemed to get worse as the days passed and as she grew up, the remarks about her two gay fathers was still prominent, but the taunting had been directed towards Rachel's features, particularly her nose the comments were as vicious as a five year old could come up with, the comments were mainly about how Rachel had "a big fat beak nose" and how she wasn't "pretty or popular."

Her school teachers weren't always pleasant to her either, every Mother's day Rachel would sit in the library on her own, crying to herself reading whatever book she could find because the teacher wouldn't allow her to make a card for one of her daddies, because as the teacher 'politely' told her, with so much sarcasm laced into her voice…

"_Rachel… it's not Father's day yet, its Mother's day and if I remember, you don't have a mommy"_

Even with the prejudice from the teachers Rachel was just lonely, so from a young age she threw herself into 'The Arts', taking vocal lessons, dance lessons, drama lessons, every kind of theatrical lesson imaginable, but still she yearned for a companion; and it wasn't until high school that Rachel found to this date her best friend, Mr Kurt Hummel.

_**2008**_

_It was the first day of high school and Rachel, who was normally never nervous, couldn't shake the butterflies from her stomach as she walked towards the double doors and into William McKinley High School. She passed the various different cliques and high school groups as they congregated in the car park, the cheerleaders and jocks looking down on the Goths. Typical high school stereotypes was the first thing that popped into Rachel's mind as she passed through the sea of red polyester, avoiding contact with everyone, especially Santana Lopez, who up until everyone actually found out Rachel's parents were gay was Rachel's best friend, until Santana's mom stopped Santana from seeing Rachel._

_Rachel was slowly taking in her surroundings, she was slightly unsure of how she felt but she honestly couldn't wait to get stuck in to all her classes and the extracurricular activities she was going to be a part of; she was almost positive that she was going to be in the Glee club, almost positive that she would lead the Glee club, and that she couldn't wait for. It wasn't until she had started to head up the main entrance stairs to the school that she noticed it, well heard it. A very girlish scream coming from around the corner of the school, there place where all the dumpsters were kept. Rachel hurried herself round to the side of the building, the scream still ringing in her ears, hoping to find the person who was the culprit of the scream. When she appeared around the corner she was met by a fashionable boy covered head to toe in rubbish, how a school could accumulate so much rubbish before the first day of the school was unknown to Rachel, but she had to help this poor boy._

"_Who did this to you?"_

_The boy snapped his head up at Rachel's question, a look of confusion etched across his face as the girl made her way to him, carefully pulling pieces of grime from his fabulous outfit._

"_The football hooligans, they're awful and not to mention homophobic. Did they not realise I spend all my money on putting perfect outfits together for me!"_

_Rachel chuckled lightly to herself as she listened to the boy in front of her rant, she had only known him a few minutes, but she felt a connection with him, a friendship and that was something that Rachel wasn't going to give up on. She extended her hand towards him hoping that he would do the same, and luckily he did._

"_Rachel Barbra Berry, I'm going to be a Broadway star one day…"_

"_Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, fashion expert at your service and Rachel dear you need me"_

_Both Kurt and Rachel exploded into a fit of giggles, laughing at his comment, but Rachel soon felt uneasy as she had to bring up her two dads, it had caused problems in the past and she didn't want it to scare off Kurt._

"_You don't mind, like gay people do you Kurt?"_

_Kurt almost scoffed; he thought Rachel was being delirious._

"_Look at me Ms. Berry, I'm a gay as a daisy, and it should be me asking you if you're okay with hanging around me"_

_Rachel launched herself into Kurt's arms, embracing him tightly as she began to tell him about her childhood and how nobody wanted to be her friend. She was thankful she found Kurt; she decided that it would make high school a little more bearable with a friend._

_**Present**_

4 years later and Kurt and Rachel were still best friends, spending a ridiculous amount of time together, her father's often thinking Rachel only really having Kurt as a friend was becoming unhealthy, she had other friends in Glee, it was just only Kurt fully understood her. Every Friday since the first week of school had been movie night, all the films the two watched were of course musicals, 'Funny Girl' being the most watched as Rachel always compared herself to Barbra, hence Kurt calling her 'Baby Barbra' on so many occasions. Slowly Kurt found himself a new Beau, a very stylish young Warbler named Blaine from the Dalton Academy, and even though Friday nights were still always Kurt and Rachel nights, she could feel them slowly drifting apart and found herself signing up to the McKinley chat room, hoping to make some new friends, and it wasn't long until she did – in the form of football superstar and McKinley High quarterback Finn Hudson. She signed up to the chat room, struggling to pick a nickname, she wasn't sure if she wanted to remain slightly anonymous, but in the end she thought that it wouldn't matter, so she picked a nick name combining her surname and gold stars, because gold stars were her metaphor, a metaphor for her being a star and metaphors were important, so "BabyRBarbraBerry*" was the name she was stuck with until she left McKinley High.

**-x-**

Finn Hudson got in from a usual day at school and bounded upstairs to his bedroom, finding some sort of sanctuary in those four walls, and even since the debacle with Quinn, peace was all he needed. He laid on top of the bed frame, which was too small for the shape of his tall body and threw his balled up fists to the side of his body a few times in anger. Sighing heavily he kicked off his shoes and tried to remember the good times. Of course there were a few happy times, the time he took Quinn to the fair, before they were even together and they were at the top of the Ferris wheel, it was their first kiss, their first high school relationship, how things went downhill from the night at the fair. There were the moments when Finn thought he was doing something wrong, he was always the best boyfriend he could be to her, but he never seemed to be enough for her… enter Puck.

Finn moved from his bed to his laptop as he remembered finding out Quinn was pregnant.

_**2 Months Ago**_

_Finn was at his locker, throwing the books around, he didn't really care about lessons or anything he was the QB, the leader of the school, football was his future… football is his future, and of course he had his hot girlfriend, the head cheerleader. They'd been together around 6 months and it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but Finn loved her, he thought. Speaking of Quinn, Finn remembered that he had to find her to talk to her… she had been pretty distant with him for the past few days; Finn had just thought that she was SUPER stressed from cheerleading and Coach Sylvester… nothing could have prepared him for what actually happened._

"_Hey Q"_

_Finn walked up to her placing a delicate kiss on her lips, which wasn't returned, he was simply pushed back as she stared into his face, tears almost threatening to spill from her eyes there and then and Finn noticed this almost as soon as he was pushed out of her arms, and sent her a questioning glance while tenderly rubbing her right arm in soothing motions. Crap!_

"_What's wrong Quinn? Is Coach doing something…?"_

_She slapped his arm away from hers, a look of confusion strewn across Finn's face as he tried to backtrack everything he could have done that would have upset Quinn. He couldn't think of anything apart from the fact he played a lot of Call of Duty when he could have been texting her. Her breath hitched a little as she spoke; the tears that were previously threatening to fall had started to make their way down her cheeks._

"_I'm pregnant…"_

_Pregnant? Did Quinn just say she was pregnant? Pregnant with his child. This was too much for Finn to take in, and everything started to go slow. Quinn's face scrunching and twisting into sobs seemed to take forever and it really scared him. He figured he should probably say something seen as it had felt like around 10 minutes since either one of them had spoken, and Finn still hadn't responded to the bombshell._

"_Preg…pregnant?"_

_Finn spluttered out the word 'pregnant'._

"_Is it mine?"_

_Probably a stupid question to ask Hudson; a mental kick to the head was required as Quinn drew in her breath; ready to attack._

"_Of course it's yours Finn… who else would it be…"_

_She was waiting for some sort of response, Finn just shrugged his shoulders and look to the side, something he always did._

"_Q, we haven't had sex"_

_It was a hushed whisper, he didn't want people to know that the star QB was still a virgin, his reputation would be ruined and he'd be called a Lima Loser. Her eyes narrowed, her lips curled into a tight frown._

"_The hot tub last month, remember?"_

_He did, and he believed her. He pulled her in for a tight embrace, sighing as tears threatened to spill from his eyes, he wasn't ready to be a father, he didn't have a father; how was he meant to be a good one for his little child. _

_If only he hadn't been so naïve._

_**Present**_

Finn sighed as he remembered how stupid he had been thinking that he got a girl pregnant from 'releasing early' in a hot tub. He sat up and reached for his laptop, logging onto Facebook being quickly met by a slap in the face by his ex-girlfriend and ex best friend.

"**Noah Puckerman **is now in a relationship with **Quinn Fabray"**

Finn slammed the laptop cover shut before sheepishly lifting it up again and staring at the newly updated relationship, his heart didn't ache like he thought it was supposed to; he just felt really angry. He closed the Facebook page as he clamped his eyes shut and remembered the day his world came crashing down.

_**2 Weeks Ago**_

_Finn walked into school, stifling a yawn, Quinn had been ringing him late at night, sometimes demanding that he went out and bought her the weird fucked up combinations of food she was craving, or even just to shout at him about how he didn't have a job and how he wouldn't be able to support him and their baby girl. Yes she was having a little girl, and Finn couldn't be more excited._

_Finn headed straight for Quinn's locker, his hand firmly wrapped around the top of the super large bag of BBQ chips, damn her cravings. Every day for the past week and a half Finn would greet her the same way, but Quinn never seemed to share those bloody BBQ chips and Finn loved those chips; trust Finn to be thinking of food more than his pregnant girlfriend. As he approached her locker he noticed that she was currently engaged in a rather heated debate with Puck, Finn was currently wondering what it was about, as he had never really seen the speak to each other, not unless Finn was around. He dangled the chips in front of Quinn's face as he approached her locker, and he placed his arm around her, resting his hands on her stomach while placing one kiss on her check. She grabbed the chips from his grasp and quickly opened the bag, hastily throwing her hands inside the bag and munching on handfuls of the BBQ flavoured snack._

"_Thanks Finn"_

_She managed to mutter between mouthfuls, and went back to devouring the bag of chips. Moments later the bag of chips was now empty and Quinn was excusing herself to her first, quickly placing a chaste kiss to Finn's cheek and shooting Puck a look that Finn didn't catch. Walking away she turned over her shoulder to shout at Finn._

"_Doctors appointment at 4, meet me at my locker!"_

_So that left Puck and Finn stood at Quinn's locker, and the debate that Finn had walked over and witnessed was in the back of his mind, he just had to ask._

"_So man, what were you and Q talking about?"_

_An unreadable expression sprung across Puck's face as he turned to look at Finn, it was a mixture of hesitation and confusion. Puck suddenly realised that it was their disagreement he had seen, not the touchy-feely actions before they had started to argue. Puck wouldn't be the one to tell Finn that they were actually arguing because Quinn wouldn't take the money for their baby – Puck and Quinn's not Finn and Quinn's. So on the spot he made up some excuse – no way in hell was he telling his best friend that he was the father of his girlfriend's baby._

"_You man, I mean she's totally flipping at you all the time, I mean you know, you're doing the best for her so I told her to stop it with you, you're doing what you can to prove for her, you're like 17 and expecting a child"_

_Puck was proud of his lie as Finn smiled his traditional one-sided smile. He was satisfied that Finn was oblivious to the fact it was all made up on the spot, and was happier with the fact that Puck was standing up for him against his girlfriend._

"_Thanks man, I'll see you later"_

_A fist bump and a goodbye and the boys were off on their way to class._

* * *

_As 3'o clock rolled by Finn couldn't help but be nervous, he was going to see his baby, his little blob as he had so affectionately named it. He was stood against Quinn's locker, slouching slightly, as he saw he blonde ponytail bobbing along the corridor in his direction, he stood up tall and noticed that she had stopped to insult a petite brunette – he was sure her name was Rachel (turns out it was – it's the girl whose slushied daily) - Finn had no idea why; the girl was stunning, a little bit of a big nose, but still she was stunning. Crap, Quinn was stood next to him as he had been looking at the girl whose face was now crumpled in her hands, and he hadn't even noticed that she was next to him._

"_Why were you staring at RuPaul?"_

_Finn stuttered over his words - he really didn't understand why they called Rachel names, especially man hands, every time he had seen her hands they looked tiny and petite just like her. The long silent tense pause prompted Quinn to step in and start talking again._

"_Come on we've got an hour before the appointment"_

_The drive over to the doctors had been quite quiet, neither Finn nor Quinn had wanted to speak, Finn's thoughts actually occupied by the brunette, but he would never left Quinn know that. Upon arriving at the doctors, Quinn and Finn took their seats in the waiting room, waiting to be called in so that they could meet their bump._

"_Quinn Fabray"_

_Quinn's named was called as Finn squeezed her hand tenderly, following her as she stood up from her chair and headed to the door. She quickly ran behind the screen to put on her the hospital gown as Finn sat in the chair next to the examination bed; he rested his head in his arms as he took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Moments later Quinn appeared from behind the screen and hopped onto the bed, sending a sudden movement to Finn, whose head fell from his arms. He got up from the chair and wondered around the room before the doctor entered._

"_FINN… stay near my head"_

_Turning away from Quinn he rolled his eyes as the door opened and the doctor made her appearance. _

"_So how are mom and baby doing?"_

_And that's when Finn zoned out sitting back in the seat next to the bed, that was until he heard the doctor ask the question he had been waiting for._

"_And who wants to see the baby?"_

_Finn nodded and looked in awe as the gel was squirted onto Quinn's barely visible bump, and then he heard it; the heartbeat, his baby's heartbeat and he couldn't stop smiling, even as the tears slipped down his cheeks. That was his child's heartbeat, a little piece of him. That night he couldn't stop smiling._

* * *

_He walked into school the very next day, a shell of the man he used to be. After the conversation with his mom last night, everything had started to make a little more sense. He couldn't believe it, his head hurt and his heart throbbed, it was too much pain for him to take. He knew what he had to do, he had to break up with her… he had to - she had lied to him._

_Walking through the halls he remembered what his moms face had been like when she saw him watching the sonogram when she came into his room with a fresh load of washing. Her face dropped into an unreadable expression, her eyes filled with hurt and disappointment._

"_Is Quinn, is Quinn pregnant Finn?"_

_Ashamed and shy like a little boy that had just been caught colouring on his walls, he nodded his head and the tears formed into his eyes, mirroring his mother. He raised his head, their eyes meeting before the sobs ripped from his body, this was the first time he had properly cried about the pregnancy._

"_I'm sorry mom, I'm so so sorry"_

_Finn's head buried into his mother's chest as she tried to sooth the harsh sobs erupting from her son. She rocked him back and forth, gently, hoping the tears would cease and his ragged breathing would return to normal._

"_How did this happen Finn? I've always taught you to be careful, to wait if need be, I don't know how this happened honey"_

_Finn looked down and mumbled "hot tub." Carole's face dropped as she realised her son had publically fornicated and ended up getting his girlfriend pregnant. _

"_You had sex in a hot tub?"_

_Finn shook his head, and a fresh set of tears covered his beautiful brown eyes._

"_We've never had sex Ma"_

_Carole's faced stuck in a confused emotion, surely her son knew that you had to have sex to get pregnant, she had taught him that much._

"_Quinn cheated on you Finn"_

_And that's why on the Wednesday morning, the day after their doctors' appointment, Finn was storming down the halls of McKinley to find his girlfriend, or his soon to be ex. He slammed her locker shut as he got to her locker, making her jump._

"_Who was it Quinn?"_

_Quinn was utterly shell shocked, she didn't know what had come over Finn, and why he was acting this way._

"_Who did you fuck to get knocked up? Cause I know it's not mine, I don't know why I was stupid enough to believe it was. Is that what you thought too, oh Finn's so stupid he won't ever realise that it's not his kid that he's raising, he'll have to stick by me and face the baby! It's over Quinn, now tell me who it was the fucked you"_

_With a slight hitch in her breath, she muttered the words the made Finn lose his best friend and his girlfriend._

"_Puck"_

_**Present**_

That Tuesday was the first day that Finn noticed Rachel properly, obviously he had seen her around school, she was the daily slushy target for Puck, which really sucked because Finn couldn't really do much about it, for now he did like being popular.

Finn looked down at his hands and noticed that the bruising had nearly completely faded, they were his war marks, his battle scars and they were the only things to show Finn that he actually did feel something. He couldn't believe how stupid he had actually been, believing her and her lies, he had other things to focus on now like college. Finn didn't want to stay in Lima, he was going to, you know, to look after the baby, but now he wanted to move away, and New York was the place he wanted to go. He wanted to play for the Giants, and the way he had been playing throughout the football season NYU were well on their way to offering him a scholarship. He was also focusing on Rachel, she was the only one he felt he could really trust at the minute, she was open and honest and always there for him, he could honestly say that she was the best thing that he had at the minute, well minus football… and his mom.

It was the McKinley chat room that got them close in the first place, Finn recognising her surname and then seeing the 'R' in her username made Finn realise who she first their conversations were slow, but they built up progression, Finn learning that Rachel was well driven, and wanted to be a huge star moving to New York and being on Broadway, she loved Finn's ambition too, she told him he could be anything that he wanted to be as long as he put his mind towards it – NYU was in his grasp, and he felt like he could talk to her about anything. She was the first person he told about Quinn's pregnancy, even before his mom.

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Finn… hello Finn (sent at 5:27pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: I know you're there Finn, you are online… why are you ignoring me? Have I done something wrong? (sent at 5:29pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Finn… please if something's wrong you should talk about it, not become a mute… if you don't reply soon I'm calling the emergency services because you've collapsed or something horrendous (sent at 5:37pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Please talk to me Finn (sent at 5:41pm 1/23/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: sorry b! just got sum bad news! (sent at 5:56pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: Then talk to me Finn, remember I'm your friend, you can talk to me (sent at 5:57pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: I promise it will all be okay Finn. (sent at 5:57pm 1/23/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: Q's preggers. im the dad! (sent at 6:12pm 1/23/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: Rach? (sent at 6:24pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: You're going to be a dad Finn? Really, how are you taking this, because I'm sure Quinn expects you to comfort her and not worry about yourself, but how are you? Are you eating, are you in shock? Do you need help? I am your friend I am more than willing to have late night conversations with you. (sent at 6:33pm 1/23/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: Thanks Rach! Ur always there! (sent at 6:37pm 1/23/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* is now offline**

He had taken her up on her offer of late night conversations, when Quinn had made him feel bad about himself, or had insulted him in various ways, Rache; had always been there to help him, and for that he was so grateful, that's why he knew that when he found out that Quinn had lied to him about the baby, he could talk to her and she would listen and in the end, everything would be okay, because she would make it okay, and she did.

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: r u there? (sent at 4:34pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: I am Finn, do you need me for anything? (sent at 4:36pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*:am I stupid? (sent at 4:40pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: Stupid? No Finn, why ever would you think so? Has Quinn been saying things again to you, it's unfair that she does that you, you're the father of her child, she needs to start showing you respect. (sent at 4:43pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: no (sent at 4:44pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: Have I insulted you Finn? What was with the one word answer?. (sent at 4:43pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: no, I am stupid. I must b! (sent at 4:50pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: You're not Finn, what's happened? (sent at 4:52pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: I'm not the father of the baby (sent at 4:55pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: WHAT! (sent at 4:55pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: c stupid! I thought I could knock Q up in a hot tub. (sent at 4:58pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: She cheated on you? How could she do that to you? Do I want to know who it was? (sent at 5:01pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: yes. I don't know. Puck the fuckin' asshole (sent at 5:07pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: Your best friend! Miss blonde Barbie doll cheated on you with your best friend. How are you? I wish I could hug you right now Finn, you deserve none of this, you're not stupid, a little naïve perhaps, but she tricked you, she tricked you into raising the baby, and now you're better off, yes it will hurt, it will hurt like hell but now you can get rid of them and move on with your live, because you deserve to, push all the hate out of your life and start afresh. (sent at 5:13pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 – BabyRBarbraBerry*: it just hurts. hurts so much b! she was my girl and he was my best mate, they broke every rule there is, my hand hurts too. (sent at 5:17pm 3/14/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitan5: I am always here for you Finn, trust me on that, I'll always be one IM away from talking, and your hand hurts, please tell me you didn't use your fists to settle that with Noah? (sent at 5:19pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: thanks! and does that mean I hit him, cos I totally did that, it didn't help though. Mom wants me, shes baking to cheer me up, she does that. Bye Rach xx (sent at 5:22pm 3/14/12)**

**HudsonTitan5 is now offline**

**-x-**

Rachel was sat at her laptop scrolling through the NYADA website with Kurt on her left hand side, they had both applied to the New York based college, with hope that they would both get in and be able to start a new chapter of their lives together, Blaine included. Rachel kept thinking about Finn, and about how he must have been feeling, ever since Finn had told her that Quinn had cheated on him with Puck and got pregnant, Rachel just worried about him, every time she had seen him around school she just wanted to put her arms around him and let him sob onto her shoulder, he wasn't the school quarterback that she was used to seeing and it worried her, he was simply a shell of the boy he used to be. Kurt had noticed that Rachel was distracted and posed an idea he knew she wouldn't be able to say no too; hopefully taking her mind off whatever was clouding her mind.

"Come on Rachy, we should sing… we haven't sung in forever and I know you want too"

Kurt nudged her shoulder and teasingly smiled at his best friend, knowing that she would say yes to a singsong with her best gay, and he had just the song that would cheer her up, a mixture of everything they both loved… Barbra and Judy!

**Kurt **_Rachel __**Both**_

**Forget your troubles come on get happy **

_Happy days are here again_

**You better chase all your cares away**

_The skies above are clear again_

**Shout hallelujah come on get happy**

_So let's sing a song of cheer again_

**Get ready for the judgement day**

_Happy days are here again_

**The sun is shining come get happy**

_Shout it now _

**The Lord is waiting to take your hand**

_There's no one who can doubt it now_

**Shout hallelujah and just get happy**

_So let's tell the world about it now_

**We're going to the promise land**

_Happy days are here again_

**We're heading cross the river soon your cares will all be gone**

_There'll be no more from now on _

_**From now on**_

**Forget your troubles come on get happy **

_Happy days are here again_

**You better chase all your blues away**

_The skies above are clear again_

**Shout hallelujah and just get happy**

_So let's sing a song of cheer again_

_Happy times_

**Happy times**

_Happy nights_

**Happy nights**

_**Happy days are here again**_

A round of applause from Rachel's door shocked Rachel and Kurt, who were still in their own performing bubble, Hiram and LeRoy were stood in the doorway, creating their very own standing ovation, this was what they could get used to, the crowds in a Broadway theatre, the exhilaration from performing, suddenly Rachel wasn't so distracted about Finn, that was until she looked to her laptop and remembered their conversations. Once Rachel's dads had left the entrance to her room Kurt took the opportunity to find out what was going on with Rachel.

"I'm in love Kurt"

"Oh god Rachel I know, you're in love with Broadway, with New York, the idea of our new life"

"Yes… I'm in love with all that, but I'm in love with a boy too"

"Oh is it Jesse St James? He seems interested in you when he came and helped Mr Schue in Glee Club"

Rachel shook her head and opened her browser and Facebooked Finn Hudson.

"This is the boy I'm in love with, and not the quarterback everyone sees, I'm in love with the sensitive Finn, the shy Finn, the Finn who isn't afraid to cry when I talk to him, well granted I've never spoken to him, the only time we've spoken in some way is on that McKinley chat room, but the Finn I see, isn't the Finn everyone else sees, everyone sees the quarterback, the guy who tries to lead our team to victory, but I see the Finn who wants nothing more than to do his mom proud, to make something of himself, to prove that he's not naïve and stupid like everyone thinks, this thing with Quinn hit him pretty hard, and he's trying to be strong, but I know he's not, I just, I really think I'm falling in love Kurt."

Rachel opened the latest chat between Finn and herself and showed it to Kurt.

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: I want to make something for myself after school, I don't want to be seen as a Lima Loser, I mean I'm working so hard to get out of here and get a football scholarship – NYU still want me they told me, we just gotta win the championship game and its mine – I want to make my mom proud of me, because I know she's still disappointed with the whole pregnancy thing, you know, even though its not mine (sent at 4:22pm 4/4/12)**

Kurt looked at the conversation archive and smiled towards his best friend, he could tell she really loved him, like really loved him and he was going to do everything he could to get them together at Prom, even if it seemed like an impossible task.

**-x-**

Rachel wondered down the halls of McKinley in a relatively good mood, she had just found out that she was due to have her NYADA audition in 2 weeks, Carmen Thibodeaux was due to fly out in 11 days and in 14 days Rachel would be stood on that stage singing her heart out for the Dean of NYADA, nothing could dampen her spirits.

Well Rachel thought that until Puck decided it would be hilarious to throw a grape slushy all over the petite girl. But this slushy wasn't the regular ones that she had thrown on her, oh no, it was a lot bigger than usual, so instead of the sticky substance just clinging to her clothes like usual, it stuck to her clothes, and clumped up in her curls and left her feeling so uncomfortable. It was basically like being slapped, the pain started to become unbearable and Rachel could feel the tears brimming from her chocolate eyes. Her little hands wiped all visible slushy from her face as she heard the roars of laughter from the cheerleaders and football players, she turned down the hallway and bolted in the direction of the ladies restroom, tears now falling from her eyes, clouding her vision and staining her cheeks streaky. She was nearly there when she stumbled backwards after crashing into someone or something, instantaneously falling onto the floor.

"Whoa, calm down munchkin"

Finn helped the girl up from the floor, he didn't realise she had been slushied until he saw the purple slush clinging to her hair and clumping up her eyelids. He really hated what was becoming of the football players, people didn't deserve to be treated this way. He swept the slushy from across her nose and wiped away the last few tears that were falling, he couldn't help but feel for her. Finn recognised her straight away, noticing that it was Rachel, he guessed it was because Puck that had done it to her, because he was the one to usually slushy her.

"Who did this to you?"

A small sniffle and a heavy sigh later, the name Finn already knew it would have been came from her mouth in what Finn could only describe as the sound of an angel.

"Puck"

A fresh set of tears emerged from the tiny girl, and all Finn could do was take her in a tight embrace, he wasn't worried about the slushy getting onto his letterman jacket, he couldn't be she was in pieces, Finn realised about 2 minutes after bumping her to the floor that Puck had slushied her with the 'Super Duper Slushy' from the 7/11 round the corner, they were so much bigger than the regular slushies.

As Rachel was walked to the ladies by Finn, she couldn't help but just want to cry in embarrassment, the high school quarterback was helping her, and she couldn't help but feel like any second he was going to turn and more people would throw slushies at her, but then she realised that she had seen the real Finn Hudson, the Finn that no one else saw – the Finn Hudson she saw on a regular basis, every night in their chat room conversation. As they reached the ladies, Rachel thoughtfully smiled at Finn, their eyes meeting and Rachel couldn't help but be drawn into the hazel eyes, the warmth of the amber, she wanted nothing more than Finn to lean down and capture her lips in a tender kiss, but she knew that wasn't going to happen, she was a loser and he was, well he was not.

Finn's eyes locked into her chocolate ones, and he felt so much emotion, he felt like he should be the one to make her smile when she cried, her eyes carried so much, it's like he could almost sense her passion and determination just from looking into her eyes; but then he noticed they didn't sparkle, her eyes were simply glazed with no sparkle behind them, he guessed from the various slushies she got an a regular basis, he'd seen Puck slushy her before, he knew he had to stop it.

"Thanks Finn"

The little angelic voice disappeared into the bathroom and Finn finally allowed himself to sigh, he turned down the hall to his next period, and tried to push the brown eyes from his head. He only saw those eyes once during the rest of the day, he received a careful smile from Rachel, a simple thank you for helping her and that put a smile on his face.

**-x-**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: is it okay to want to be a better person? (sent at 2:22pm 4/12/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Of course it is Finn. What do you mean you want to become a better person? You are already such a lovely person. (sent at 2:25pm 4/12/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: I mean, puck things its great fun to slushy every1 he sees, just yday he slushied you, he slushies you lots anyway but this time I could c in your face that it really hurt. (sent at 2:29pm 4/12/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Have you ever slushied anyone? (sent at 2:31pm 4/12/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: once, football initiation, but ive never done it since (sent at 2:32pm 4/12/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Well it shows Finn, you've done it once, yes it is a barbaric act but it shows how awful you felt if you haven't been able to slushy anyone since. (sent at 2:34pm 4/12/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: i want people to stop throwing people in the damn dumpsters, im around when that happens, but I feel so guilty and so awful when every1 leaves I help the person out and apologise. (sent at 2:37pm 4/12/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Oh Finn, you really are one of a kind, you're nothing like those barbarous football players, you actually care about other people, and if you really want to change you'll have to talk some sense into the other football players, I know it will fall on deaf ears and nothing will change, but you can try and you can be the better person. (sent at 2:41pm 4/12/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: i want to make a change, I will make a change, people need to stop bullying other just cos they want to, im going to talk to puck and sort it out, no1 should have slushies thrown at them its like being bitchslapped with ice. (sent at 2:48pm 4/12/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: And with an attitude like that you will make a change, or you will at least try to make a change. I'm very proud Mr Hudson (sent at 2:49pm 4/12/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: thanks Rach (sent at 2:52pm 4/12/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* is now offline**

**-x-**

Since the last conversation he had had with Rachel, he decided things needed to change, he rounded the football team and the hockey team all together to talk to them and he knew it probably wouldn't make much impact, but at least he could try, and he was making Rach proud of him.

"Guys this needs to stop. All the shit we do, the dumpster tossing, the slushies, all of it, it all needs to stop, you know people try to kill themselves because of everything we put them through, they feel so low and so shit that they just give up and stop wanting to fight, how would you feel in their position?"

There was a silence across the locker room, until that silence was met by hysterical laughter. Finn knew he wasn't been taken seriously but he tried, he fought for what he thought was right, and to him he was going to stop torturing innocent bystanders, who had done nothing to him.

"Finn are you serious now?"

Finn shot a look at Puck, a look that told Puck that Finn was deadly serious about what he had said.

"You can't disrupt the way of high school life, it's meant to happen like that, the jocks and cheerleaders rule the school where the glee club losers and the geeks just get tormented by us leaders, you stop that and you stop the way high school works, geeks will think it's okay to sit by us at lunch and talk to us, it's not the way it works, I'm not stopping for anyone or anything."

Finn stormed out of the locker room, pushing the bin over as he left, he really tried to fight for some for some form of justice for the geeks of the school, he felt like he'd let himself down, he felt like he'd let B down.

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: I tried I really did Rach, but they all hated the idea, just like you said they would, they laughed in my face and said its how high school works, that the jocks rule the school while the geeks are tormented, and its not fair, its not fair anymore, so that why for my prom king campaign stuff im going to sort it out, im going to get some form of equal rights or whatever it called, for the people who deserve it. If I get nominated for prom king (sent at 5:42pm 7/12/12)**

Finn typed out his message and sent it before turning his Xbox on and playing the night away, trying to get rid of any thoughts he had about how he was humiliated.

**-x-**

"_Pupils of McKinley High School, this is your principal here and I am here to inform you of the upcoming prom theme. After much deliberation we have decided that this year's senior prom will be a masquerade, so find a mask and a date and dance the night away. Also here are your nominations for Prom Royalty, for Prom King… Noah Puckerman, Finn Hudson and Dave Karofsky, and now the one everyone cares about… your Prom Queen Nominations… Santana Lopez, Lauren Zizes and Quinn Fabray, that is all, good day and for anyone asking the lizards that were in the school gym, they have been captured and released close by._

Finn Hudson stood with Santana Lopez at her locker listening to the announcement from Prom Royalty nominations, and he felt a little excited when he heard his name called for Prom King, finally he could start his plan for peace or justice or whatever Rach had called it during their most recent chat, she told him that he most definitely had her vote because he was doing so much for the minorities like her.

"So Frankenteen, we running for King and Queen together?"

Santana was Finn's best friend, well ever since he was hurt by Puck and Quinn, though Santana was hurt by them too, they bonded over the hate from the two liars. Puck and Santana always had an on/off relationship, if you could call sex a relationship, and though she would never admit it, Puck really did hurt her. He was like her gay beard, Finn was probably the only one that knew that Brittany and Santana were together, but she trusted him not to say anything.

"Yeah if you agree with what I want, cos I want to make a difference for the people below us in high school"

"Wanky"

"San… serious, I want to like help the geeks feel like they belong in high school, let them have a good high school experience, not be slushied"

Santana nodded at Finn, usually once he set his mind to something, there was nothing to convince him otherwise. She admired that about Finn, so she agreed to what he wanted to do.

"You know if you'd have run for Senior Class President with that attitude, you'd have definitely made some changes"

"Well I hadn't properly started speaking to Rachel then, you know, if I had known her and she had told me she would be proud of me and then everything with Quinn and Puck didn't help, but I'm going to make a difference now"

Santana raised her eyebrows at the mention of Rachel, Santana really wanted to know what Rachel had done with Finn Hudson? She was used to see Finn being all mushy when he was with Quinn, well the first few months when they were actually in love, but seeing him talk about this Rachel, made Santana realise that Finn was in love with her, and she was going to tease him _mercilessly. _

"So tell me about this Rachel?"

The typical Finn Hudson smile rose from his lips, his smirk, the right side of his mouth curling upwards at the mention of her initial. At first he didn't know how to put into words what she actually meant to him, I mean Finn wasn't that grand with words, but describing her seemed to come naturally. He told Santana about how she was amazing to talk to and didn't judge his stupidity when he believed the baby was his, and the strange way he'd thought he had gotten Quinn pregnant, how she seemed to always be there for him and his problems and how he was quickly falling for her.

"Ask her to prom"

Finn glanced up at Santana, a look of utter shock strewed across his face.

"WHAT?"

"I said… ask her to prom"

Finn stared at Santana and realised she was being serious, but what she didn't know was that Finn really wanted too, but two things were playing on his mind…1) would she want too and 2) how would their reputations be dealt with. Finn knew that if he turned up with Rachel his reputation would be ruined, to be honest it wasn't such a big deal to him, but if he got excluded from the football team, and they turned against him – diminishing his chances of getting into NYU, it was a risk he wasn't willing to take – or was it?

"What is she says no?"

Santana rolled her eyes.

"Why would she say know to Finn Hudson, high school dream boat and star of the football team? She'd be silly not to, and if she does you'll have so many other people drooling all over you, I'm sure you won't miss out on little miss Berry."

"But I want her, I don't want anyone else, but I don't want her to deal with anything from you and the cheerleaders, or even Quinn, for going with me, being seen with me or being with me, I care about her too much for her to be hassled day in, day out, well even more than usual. The cheerleaders would just make her feel like worthless shit, like she doesn't deserve to be with me, but it's the other way round."

Santana smirked at Finn; an all-knowing smile ghosting her lips.

"Oh my boys got it bad!"

**-x-**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: Rach, u excited about prom? (sent at 4:12pm 4/19/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: A night when I can be myself under a mask and not worry about the cheerleaders torturing me. I mean I hate the idea of Prom Royalty, the popular jocks and cheerleaders feeling they need another way to rule the school; but I am looking forward to dressing up and dancing with Kurt – maybe even singing too – I have been working on a song for a good few years now. (sent at 4:19pm 4/19/12)**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: so you and kurt are going to prom 2geva? (sent at 4:21pm 4/19/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* - HudsonTitans5: Of course Finn, he is my best friend, oh I have to go, Kurt's taking me prom dress shopping. Bye Finn xx (sent at 4:22pm 4/19/12)**

**BabyRBarbraBerry* is now offline**

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: will you go to prom with me? (sent at 4:23pm 4/19/12)**

Finn didn't ask Rachel to prom again after that, he wasn't sure if messages sent when they were offline, he was sure they didn't because if they did, he would have been really embarrassed that she said no. He then remembered a conversation he'd had with someone else on there, and he didn't receive the message they had sent when they went offline, so he just ignored the fact that he had asked her.

**-x-**

Prom night was finally here and because both Finn and Santana didn't want to go alone, they had decided to team up as each other's dates, Santana not wanting to take Brittany, the school wasn't well accommodating to lesbians, and she didn't want to add fuel to the fire of giving more people reasons to say shit about her, so she enlisted the help of her best friend. Santana was the lady in red, the devil in disguise, wearing a long red fitted dress that clung to every curve on her body, Finn in a matching red tie, looking ever so dashing in his suit. Simple hair and makeup was the way Santana wanted to attend prom, red lips and poker straight locks was her of dressing up and getting ready to go.

Rachel had been primped and pampered by Kurt all day; she was soon getting sick of all the preening Kurt was doing to her. It started at 12 that morning or afternoon Rachel really didn't care, Kurt had first made them go to the spa to get manicures and pedicures, so there they went. Kurt had made Rachel sit in the chair at the spa, getting the manicurist and the pedicurist to work at her hands and feet, insisting that she had a rose colour applied to her fingers and toes, a delicate simple colour to compliment her dress. After spending an hour or two at the spa, it felt like so much longer to Rachel, they made their way back to Rachel's to start getting ready for prom. As soon as they got home Rachel looked herself in her bathroom, stripping down to her underwear and analysing her figure in her bathroom mirror, she wasn't pretty like Quinn, she wasn't thin like Brittany and she certainly wasn't sexy like Santana, so she had no idea why Finn Hudson spoke to her, she wasn't like the usual girls he dated, maybe it was all just to humiliate her and to embarrass her at prom, if that was the case Rachel had decided there and then to keep her heart guarded and never let anyone in. After overanalysing her body Rachel decided to get a shower, scrubbing herself to get all the dirt and grime from her body, she was a lot more thorough than her morning bath, the world can be a very filthy place, she brushed her teeth, allowing them to sparkle for the night ahead, she wanted her dazzling smile to blind the students of McKinley as she sang with the Glee Club, she then tweezed any stray eyebrows, dabbing her eyes as vagrant tears leaked from her eyes. Rachel grabbed the makeup remover and the moisturiser ready to apply lots to her body and face; she started with the makeup remover, removing any stubborn mascara from her eyes - that was the problem with wearing waterproof mascara, no amount of scrubbing in the shower could remove the residue of the black clumpy gloop. Rachel squirted a huge dollop of moisturiser into her hand to rub all over her body, making her feel all soft and her skin rehydrated; as per usual she finished off her routine with an ice water face bath – a la Joan Crawford in 'Mommie dearest'. After spending about an hour in the bathroom, Rachel stepped out into her bedroom to find Kurt engaged in a deep and meaningful conversation with his boyfriend, she trundled to her vanity desk and placed herself down in her chair, quickly plugging in her hairdryer and blasting her hair with the warm air, this suddenly snapped Kurt from the conversation with Blaine and his attention focused on Rachel and getting her ready for prom.

"So girly, are you looking forward to tonight?"

Rachel nodded as Kurt checked her hair, making sure that it was now completely dry and then Kurt started sectioning off Rachel's hair, ready to curl then style her locks. He had the idea of styling her hair in a stylish up-do, a donut bun, with curls framing her face and curls in the bun; he'd had had this idea planned for Rachel since the beginning of the year and now he was looking forward to actually being able to do it for her. As he curled the bottom layer of her hair he braved the question he had wanted to ask Rachel for a few days now.

"So… what's going to happen with Finn?"

Rachel shyly looked to the ground, hiding the blush on her cheeks as she tried to come up with an answer.

"I don't know Kurt"

It was the simplest and most effective answer she could give at the moment.

"I mean I really want to dance with him, and you know talk to him properly in person, like an actual conversation, and I won't have to worry about anything just because it's a masquerade and we will all be hidden by masks, and no one will know it's me so I can't tatter his reputation and have all the football hooligans and Neanderthals turn against him once again, like they already have for trying to stick up for me, well the geeks"

Kurt nodded and continued to curl and pin Rachel's hair, listening to her ramble about how Finn was different and Finn was sweet, he just hopped it was all true and not just some big hoax, and Finn was going to hurt his fragile best friend. Once Kurt had finished with Rachel's hair he moved onto her makeup, he refused to let her do it herself, he wanted her to look perfect tonight to make Finn see that she was the most beautiful girl there. Kurt started with a simple foundation, just a simple dusting of a loose powder to keep the rest of the makeup from slipping, and to keep Rachel from looking shiny; he then applied a rose blush to her cheeks, highlighting her cheek bones, and letting the natural definition of them stand out. Kurt decided on using a gold eye shadow on Rachel's eyes, he wanted to make the natural beauty of her gorgeous eyes stand out, and the gold colour he had picked to be smudged onto her lid did the exact job perfectly, a few coats of mascara later and a strawberry lip gloss applied to her lips and she was ready to get into her dress, shoes and place on her mask. Rachel noticed her computer beeped, indicating she had received a new message on the chat room, seeing she had been online all this time.

**HudsonTitans5 - BabyRBarbraBerry*: Hi Rach, I'll see you at prom tonight, save one dance for me? (sent at 5:39pm 5/04/12)**

Rachel squealed as she read the message and replied to Finn instantly, he had asked her to save him a dance, she couldn't contain her excitement, she was ready for this prom now, she couldn't wait; she looked at her dress hanging up on her door frame and smiled as she unzipped the bag that was storing the dress.

**-x-**

Rachel put one foot into the decorated gym and smiled, the smelly gym had been transformed into a wonderland, a sanctuary, a beautiful place for prom. Her beautiful rose dress shimmered in the light as it clung to her body, emphasising her tiny waist and her perfectly toned stomach. Her mask was a simple white mask, embossed with silver white sequins, and a few pink sequins hidden within the white, the detailed design of the lace decorated the eye holes of the mask, the pink and white flowers decorating the top of the mask, pearls dangling from each side of the mask, a single gem on the right side of the right eye, a flower decorated in sequins stuck to the side. The curls framed her face and the mask, her silver strappy shoes sparkled like her bracelets, she couldn't wait to just start enjoy prom. Her happiness was all half lived as she noticed Finn walking in, Santana draped through his arm, she blinked back tears – she thought Finn was different, she swallowed the sigh and made her way to the stage ready to sing the first song of prom, it was an honour for the glee club to sing at the senior prom.

"And welcome to The New Directions lead female"

_Dancing through life __skimming the surface__  
__Gliding where turf is smooth__  
__Life's more painless __for the brainless__  
__Why think too hard? __When it's so soothing__  
__Dancing through life __no need to tough it__  
__When you can sluff it off as I do__  
__Nothing matters __but knowing nothing matters__  
__It's just life__so keep dancing through...  
_

_Dancing through life __swaying and sweeping__  
__And always keeping cool__  
__Life is fraughtless __when you're thoughtless__  
__Those who don't try __never look foolish__  
__Dancing through life __mindless and careless__  
__Make sure your where less __trouble is rife__  
__Woes are fleeting __blows are glancing__  
__When you're dancing __through life..._

_Let's go down to the Ozdust Ballroom  
__We'll meet there later tonight  
__W__e can dance till it lights  
__Find the prettiest girl; give her a whirl_

_Right on down to the Ozdust Ballroom_

_Come on, follow me __you'll be happy to be there..._

_Dancing through life __down at the Ozdust...__  
__If only because dust is what we come to...__  
__Nothing matters __but knowing nothing matters__  
__It's just __life __so keep dancing through..._

_Dancing through life __down at the Ozdust__  
__If only because dust __is what we come to__  
__And the strange thing __your life could end up changing__  
__While your dancing __through!_

Rachel finished her song and found everyone clapping for her, she was shocked, never in all her years of high school had she been applauded for by most of the students in the school, or even by the teachers, she felt proud, happy like nothing could bring her down… until she saw Santana.

She made her way down the stairs from the stage and into a giants arms, instantly recognising that they were Finn's; she felt a sense of comfort and a safe environment until she realised she was annoyed at him, she tried to pull away from the hug, but Finn tightened his grip on her and led her to the middle of the dance floor, attaching one of his hands to her waist while his other hand navigated her hands to around his neck. Once both her hands were securely fastened around her neck, Finn's other hand made its way to rest on the other side of Rachel's waist, her hips swaying to the beat of the music that were playing.

"You were amazing up there Rachel…"

A light blush appeared across rachel's cheeks as she was complimented by Finn, but he didn't stop there.

"I knew it was you as soon as I saw the brown eyes behind the mask, and the passion behind them, you have an incredible voice, New York will be so lucky to have you, you're going to be a star Rachel Berry, a huge gold star."

A smiled strewed across Rachel's face until she realised he was slow dancing with her and compliementing her, when he should be with his… Santana, whatever she was. She debated just walking away from him but word vomit got the better of her.

"Shouldn't you be dancing with Santana?"

A sarcastic tone crossed her lips, and she almost instantly regretted what she had just said when she saw Finn's face drop, and his hands loosen on her hips. The colour drained from her face as she realised that she had upset Finn, and there was nothing she could do at that moment to rectify the mistake she had just made.

"I thought it was me you liked, but like I can see you just like the popular girls, the pretty ones with the boob jobs, and the barely there clothes."

After a few minutes of silence Finn dropped his hands from around her waist and in a hushed whisper he muttered something Rachel didn't understand. Taking a step back from her Finn just looked at her, he took in her appearance.

"You honestly think that? You honestly think I don't like you?"

Rachel struggled to find words so just nodded her head ever so slowly and shrugged her shoulders. Finding the courage to actually put her point across that is exactly what Rachel did.

"Look at me… look at me Finn! I'm not pretty, I'm not popular, I don't deserve to be with someone like you, I don't deserve to be made to feel special by the most popular boy in school, I don't deserve it, and I don't deserve you Finn, I'm sorry I've got to go"

Rachel ran to the bathroom where she finally let the tears flow, she knew that they would be announcing Prom King and Queen soon, and she didn't want to be anywhere near to the gym when they announced the popular people to be Prom Royalty. She wiped away her tears as she geared herself to go back into the prom; she knew she hadn't missed the crowning, but at least all she had to see was people get the crowns and not have to witness they being called to the stage.

"And your McKinley High Prom King and Queen are Finn Hudson and Quinn Fabray"

Finn's heart dropped as he heard her name called, he's have to dance with her, he'd have to talk to her, he'd have to be face to face with the girl who broke his heart and he certainly wasn't ready to do that what so ever. He bent down so that Figgins could put the crown on his head, looking out to the audience in hope to meet her eyes; they did and they locked, a sympathetic smile etched across her lips. As he made his way down the stairs to the centre of the dance floor to dance with Quinn, he thought about all the times Rachel had been there for Finn, and how he could always rely on her – if anyone didn't deserve anyone, it was Finn that didn't deserve Rachel.

"Finn…"

A timid Quinn looked up to meet his eyes, he could see the apologies in her eyes but he didn't want to hear it, he was over it – yes she had broken his heart, but it was slowly getting fixed by a tiny brunette.

"I'm sorry you know, sorry it happened like this, sorry it was Puck…"

Finn cut her off, telling her to save it, he really didn't care anymore, he took the crown from his head and threw it off to the distance, hoping that it didn't hurt anyone in particular, it was just plastic, it meant nothing – it was only a sign of popularity. He walked over to Rachel and asked her for the dance, he had already forgiven her for the shit she had said about Santana and not liking her, he was planning on clearing that up while they danced. Rachel shyly took Finn's hand as they walked to the middle of the dance floor, Quinn had quickly walked away and had found Puck, Finn was sure she was crying but right at this moment he couldn't care less. Rachel went to open her mouth to apologise but Finn stopped her.

"Rachel Berry, I want you to know how much I care about you, you are the only one I can talk to about everything, I thought that was evident when we spoke about the baby and Quinn, trust me when I tell you that you are beautiful and you are the one I want, you don't need to be popular, I've realised that now, I don't need to be popular, I just need to be happy and with you, I know I will be; and also Santana's dancing with her girlfriend Brittany – she didn't want to come to prom with her; just because you know how people are and shit, but it's you Rach, it's you!"

Rachel leaned up on her toes to kiss Finn, not caring who saw anymore, she just wanted to kiss him and be with him and tell him she loved him – but she wasn't going to do that yet, but she was completely falling for him, and she could kind of tell that Finn was feeling the same!

"Okay 20 seconds left of prom children, everyone reveal their masks in 10"

Finn looked to Rachel to reassure her that it would all be okay, he didn't care that she wasn't classed as popular – it was her she wanted.

"9…8…"

Rachel looked to Finn, sending him a look that said, if you want to go now you can, I won't bring you down too.

"7…6…5…"

He placed his hand under her chin and placed one delicate kiss to her lips while leaning up to untie the ribbon that was situated around her head, resting just underneath the top of her bun.

"4…"

Finn held onto the mask as he murmured into Rachel's ear, telling her how beautiful she was.

"3…2…"

Rachel had her hands tucked into the elastic of Finn's mask, ready to pull it over his head.

"1…"

The masks flew into the air, and Finn and Rachel sealed their revealing with a kiss, they didn't care who saw now, they were happy and that's all that mattered. In the distance Kurt and Santana were watching the happy couple finally get together, they were happy for their best friends, finally no more moping.

**-x-**

The Monday after prom Finn walked into school, his head held high, he had asked Rachel to be his girlfriend over the weekend and he was happy that she accepted. He was walking in the direction of her locker when he was hit in the face by a mess of cherry flavoured frozen ice, he blinked startled, he kind of expected to be slushied, but he didn't want to tell Rachel because she would have never left him sacrifice anything for her, but he honestly would do anything for her. He casually walked to Rachel's locker, wiping the ice from his face, Rachel noticing he had been slushied right away and pulled him into the girls toilets.

"Can you honestly put up with the slushies for the next few week before graduation?"

Rachel was terrified of the answer, she was giving him the opportunity then and there to walk out and keep his popularity intact.

"as long as its you clearing me off, I couldn't care less baby"

**fin**

* * *

**_AN: Thanks for reading._**

**_Songs feautured:_**

**_1)Happy Days/Get Happy: Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand  
2)Dancing Through Life: Wicked The Original Broadway Cast_**

**_ I picture Santana in the prom dress she wore in Season 2 : cs(.)wikia(.)com/glee/images/0/0a/Pq_ &w=758&h=462&ei=qATPT6aEEc6a0QW9zsXJCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1037&vpy=183&dur=197&hovh=175&hovw=288&tx=186&ty=97&sig=107810375580203363471&page=4&tbnh=143&tbnw=173&start=67&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:67,i:232_  
**

**_I picture Rachel in the dress that Lea wore to the 2011 Golden Globes :_**

**_hinderella(.)files(.)wordpress(.)com/2011/01/lea-michele-2011-golden-globes_ _**

**_And the mask I saw and though Rachel could wear was :_**

**_cdn-5(.)create(.)net/siteimages/5/0/3/50308/426133/f_ _**


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